Political Economy category archive

Whenever you hear someone complain about a “pension crisis,” remind yourself that employees did not cause a crisis.

Employers did, by not preparing for the pensions they promised.

It’s not the pensioners who should be punished.

It’s the employers who had promises to keep–and didn’t.

But that’s not the way the world works, is it, now?

A. Exactly.

Republicans have decided that Oliver Twist depicts Utopia and Fagin, the ideal governor.

Patrick Kerkstra writes at Philly dot com:

In too many Philadelphia circles, there’s a view that the answer to the city’s poverty pandemic is to just open more coffee shops, more restaurants, more yoga studios.

Not just Philadelphia’s Babbitts, but Babbitts in many other cities are falling into the same trap.

A strong economy does not grow from buying stuff; it grows from making stuff, then selling it.

Also, hipsters are ironically annoying.

For all practical puposes, no change.

Jobless claims rose by 7,000 to 343,000 in the week ended July 20 from a revised 336,000 the prior period, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington.

(snip)

Those who’ve used up their traditional benefits and are now collecting emergency and extended payments fell by about 21,300 to 1.62 in the week ended July 6.

The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits dropped to 2.3 percent in the week ended July 13 from 2.4 percent the prior week, today’s report showed.

A little better, but still in the same ballpark:

Jobless claims dropped by 24,000 to 334,000 in the week ended July 13, the fewest since early May, from a revised 358,000 the prior period, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington.

(snip)

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, fell to 346,000 last week from 351,250.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits climbed by 91,000 to 3.11 million in the week ended July 6, the most in five months. That caused the unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits to rise to 2.4 percent, the highest since early April, from 2.3 percent.

Bloomberg’s “experts” once again–oh, never mind, wish I could get a job where always being wrong is okay.

It always comes back to theft of labor.

Not good.

First-time claims rose by 16,000 to 360,000 in the week ended July 6 from a revised 344,000, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington.

(snip)

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, climbed to 351,750 last week from 345,750.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits rose by 24,000 to 2.98 million in the week ended June 29. The continuing claims figure does not include the number of Americans receiving extended benefits under federal programs.

One constant: Bloomberg’s “experts” maintain their track record of being the people to bet against at the track.

Boots on the ground.

Furloughs of 3,550 civilian employees at MacDill Air Force Base begin Monday, as base leaders fight to maintain morale even as workers lose at least $9.2 million in pay.

Most of the employees — about 2,200 — work for the 6th Air Mobility Wing, which is MacDill’s host unit. Another 900 work at U.S. Special Operations Command and 450 more at U.S. Central Command, the nation’s two premier combat commands.

Nothing can ease unemployment more than more unemployment.

It’s the “misery loves company” theory of economics.

What happens when the evul fedrul guvmint tries to save some money and do something sensible and business-like?

Budget hawks turn into attacking budget doves.

Governors united across party lines to protest the potential loss of their pet C-130s and other planes. Members of Congress lined up behind the potent lobbying pressure of the Guard and the reserves. The result: The Air Force was ordered not to make the cuts it thought were best for the nation’s defense, and instead had to retain scores of planes it wanted to retire.

A full dose of depression awaits at the link.

For all practical purposes, no change. Still hovering pretty much where it’s been for a long, long time:

Jobless claims decreased by 9,000 to 346,000 in the week ended June 22 from a revised 355,000 the prior period, the Labor Department reported today in Washington. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 345,000 claims.

(snip)

The four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figures, dropped to 345,750 last week from 348,500.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits was little changed at 2.97 million in the week ended June 15.

The only constant is that Bloomberg’s “experts” were off the mark.

Again.

Jobless claims climbed by 18,000 to 354,000 in the week ended June 15 from a revised 336,000 the prior period, the Labor Department reported today in Washington.

(snip)

The four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figures, climbed to 348,250 last week from 345,750.

(snip)

The number of job seekers who have exhausted their traditional benefits and now are collecting emergency and extended aid fell by about 19,550 to 1.68 million in the week ended June 1.

I defy anyone who claims to see a trend in these numbers to prove it.

Jobless claims decreased by 11,000 to 346,000 in the week ended June 1 from a revised 357,000, the Labor Department reported today in Washington.

(snip)

The four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figures, rose to 352,500 last week from 348,000.

(snip)

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits fell by 52,000 to 2.95 million in the week ended May 25. The continuing claims figure doesn’t include the number of Americans receiving extended benefits under federal programs.

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, and right back atcha.

Clay Bennett:

The streets are about to get more populated, thanks to the rampant wingnuttery in Raleigh.

The state unemployment compensation has been “overhauled,” hauled right over the backs of the unemployed:

The state legislature’s unemployment system overhaul, which both raised taxes on employers and cut the length and amount of benefits, makes the state ineligible to receive federal unemployment funds intended for those unemployed longer than 26 weeks. Federal law cuts off aid to states that don’t maintain their current benefit system.

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 170,000 people in North Carolina could ultimately lose extended federal benefits for which they otherwise would have qualified.

North Carolina’s unemployment rate in April was 8.9 percent, the fifth-highest in the U.S. In Mecklenburg County, with an 8.5 percent unemployment rate, the state said 42,575 people were unemployed in April. That figure doesn’t include people who’ve stopped looking for work.

Still not good.

Applications for jobless benefits increased 10,000 to 354,000 in the week ended May 25, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. Economists called for 340,000 claims, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey.

(snip)

The four-week moving average of claims, a less-volatile measure, climbed to 347,250 from 340,500.

The number of people continuing to collect jobless benefits rose by 63,000 to 2.99 million in the week ended May 18. The continuing claims figure does not include the number of workers receiving extended benefits under federal programs.

Those who’ve used up their traditional benefits and are now collecting emergency and extended payments decreased by about 50,000 to 1.73 million in the week ended May 11.

Heidi Moore distrusts the numbers.

She suspects that reports of recovery are overblown and that the “housing recovery” isn’t so much a “recovery” as the next stage of foreclosure frenzy.

The housing recovery, for instance, seems to be just another stage of the foreclosure crisis. Note that the areas where house prices have risen the most – Arizona, Las Vegas and California – are all areas that were hurt most deeply by the housing crash. So pry between the boards of the housing recovery and the termites start crawling out. Here, you’ll find some old villains of the last housing bubble, crawling on the same properties. There are the house-flippers and the financial institutions, the foreclosure players that regenerate whenever there is a boom.

In this case, they may be creating the boom themselves. House-flipping in California has reached levels not seen since 2005, according to the Wall Street Journal. This rise in price is, by all accounts, artificial. Housing, like all products, responds to the laws of supply and demand. When supply decreases – when there are fewer homes on the market – then prices will rise. This is what is happening now.

And I’m still waiting for sequestrian dressage to start affecting the numbers, because it will.